Shloka 43
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
तस्माम्समित्रं श्राद्धकृन्नाद्रियेत दद्याम्मित्रेभ्य: संग्रहार्थ धनानि । यन्मन्यते नैव शत्रुं न मित्र त॑ मध्यस्थं भोजयेद्धव्यकव्ये
tasmāt samitraṁ śrāddhakṛn nādriyeta dadyān mitrebhyaḥ saṅgrahārthaṁ dhanāni | yan manyate naiva śatruṁ na mitraṁ taṁ madhyasthaṁ bhojayeddhavyakavye ||
Dijo Bhishma: Por ello, quien realiza el śrāddha no debe mostrar deferencia especial invitando a un amigo. Si desea mantener contentos a sus amigos, que les dé riqueza para conservar la buena voluntad. Pero en la ofrenda de havya y kavya (ritos para dioses y antepasados), debe alimentar solo a una persona neutral—ni enemiga ni amiga—que considere imparcial.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śrāddha should be protected from partiality and social bargaining: do not invite friends out of affection or obligation; instead, maintain friendships through appropriate gifts, and in the rite feed an impartial, neutral person so the ritual remains pure and unbiased.
In his instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma lays down a practical rule for ancestral rites: the śrāddha performer should avoid choosing ritual guests based on friendship or enmity, and should select a neutral person for the havya-kavya meal.